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2,586 results for “Gradients”
The impact of species phylogenetic relatedness on invasion varies distinctly along resource versus nonresource environmental gradients
<p><span>Understanding why certain plant communities are vulnerable to alien invasive species is essential to predicting and controlling invasion in a changing environment. Darwin's naturalization hypothesis suggests that non-native species should be more successful in communities where their close relatives are absent. Empirical tests of this hypothesis, however, have produced mixed results. Using plot-level data from natural forests along elevational transects covering strong environmental gradients, we examined whether the invasion of the globally invasive species <em>Ageratina adenophora</em> can be explained by environmental filtering and/or competition from closely related species linked to environmental gradients. Abundant precipitation, warm temperatures, open canopies, and postfire environments facilitated <em>A. adenophora</em> invasion, whereas resident taxonomic richness suppressed its invasion. Importantly, we found that invader-resident relatedness had a strong negative effect on invader cover under resource scarcity conditions (e.g., low water availability), but not under nonresource environmental stress conditions (e.g., low temperature). Our findings help reconcile the varied applicability of Darwin's naturalization hypothesis to biological invasions in a changing world.</span></p>
Radiocarbon and soil properties along the Kalahari moisture gradient in Botswana
<p>This dataset presents radiocarbon data from four sites located in Botswana. The dataset first presents general information about the sites (on the tab "site"), followed by more detailed information (on the tab "profile") about all sampling locations. On the 'layer' tab, information about selected soil properties and the radiocarbon values are shown.</p> <p>The dataset is part of the International Soil Radiocarbon Database (ISRaD) and associated with the following publication: Dintwe et al. (2015) Soil organic C and total N pools in the Kalahari: potential impacts of climate change on C sequestration in savannas, Plant Soil, 396_27-44, doi: 0.1007/s11104-014-2292-5.</p> <p> </p>
Changes in trait covariance along an orographic moisture gradient reveal the relative importance of light- and moisture-driven trade-offs in subtropical rainforest communities
<p>•<span> </span>A range of functional trait-based approaches have been developed to investigate community assembly processes, but most ignore how traits covary within communities. </p> <p>•<span> </span>We combined existing approaches (community-weighted means [CWMs] and functional dispersion [FDis]) with a metric of trait covariance to examine assembly processes in five angiosperm assemblages along a moisture gradient in Australia's subtropics. In addition to testing hypotheses about habitat filtering along the gradient, we hypothesised that trait covariance would be strongest at both ends of the moisture gradient and weakest in the middle, reflecting trade-offs associated with light capture in productive sites and moisture stress in dry sites.</p> <p>•<span> </span>CWMs revealed evidence of climatic filtering, but FDis patterns were less clear. As hypothesised, trait covariance was weakest in the middle of the gradient, but unexpectedly peaked at the second driest site due to the emergence of a clear drought tolerance – drought avoidance spectrum. At the driest site, the same spectrum was truncated at the 'avoider' end, revealing important information about habitat filtering in this system.</p> <p>•<span> </span>Our focus on trait covariance revealed the nature and strength of trade-offs imposed by light and moisture availability, and complemented insights gained about community assembly from existing trait-based approaches. </p>
Dataset: Complex effects of chytrid parasites on the growth of the cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens across interacting temperature and light gradients
<p>This dataset contains the raw and processed data used in the manuscript "Complex effects of chytrid parasites on the growth of the cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens across interacting temperature and light gradients", by Wierenga et al. (preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.24.481659).</p> <p>An explanation of the experiment and measurements is found in the manuscript, and detailed descriptions of the data files are available in the "_file_description.txt" files inside each folder of the dataset. </p>
A Parcellation Scheme of Mouse Isocortex Based on Reversals in Connectivity Gradients
<p>This dataset contains a parcellation of mouse isocortex into a hierarchy of subregions. The parcellation is based on the detection of gradient reversals in voxelized connectivity, as described in our latest preprint manuscript.</p> <p>The connectivity dataset used for this purpose was the voxelized mouse connectome published by the Allen Institute for Brain Science, available at <a href="https://connectivity.brain-map.org">connectivity.brain-map.org</a> (data) and <a href="https://github.com/AllenInstitute/mouse_connectivity_models">github.com/AllenInstitute</a> (code)</p> <p>Region id annotations are provided in .nrrd format. Refer to the <a href="http://teem.sourceforge.net/nrrd/format.html">NRRD documentation</a> for details.</p> <p>The hierarchy is provided in the accompanying json file. For each region, an entry "structure_id_path" is provided that lists the ids of regions on the path from the root (i.e. isocortex) to the region in question.</p> <p>For more information, please read the accompanying manuscript. We will provide the link here, once it is online.</p>
Exceptions to the rule: Relative roles of time, diversification rates and regional energy in shaping the inverse latitudinal diversity gradient
<p><strong>Aim</strong>: Inverse latitudinal diversity gradients (i-LDG), whereby regional richness peaks outside the tropics, have rarely been investigated and their causes remain unclear. Here, we investigate three prominent explanations, postulating that species-rich regions have had (1) longer time to accumulate species, (2) faster diversification, and (3) more energy to support more diverse communities. These mechanisms have been shown to explain the tropical megadiversity, and we examine whether they can also explain i-LDG.</p> <p><strong>Location</strong>: Global</p> <p><strong>Time period</strong>: Contemporary</p> <p><strong>Major taxa studied</strong>: Amphibians, birds, mammals </p> <p><strong>Methods</strong>: We estimated the time for species accumulation, regional diversification rates, and regional energy for six tetrapod taxa (≈ 800 species). Then, we quantified the relative effects and interactions among these three classes of variables, using variance partitioning, and confirmed the results across alternative metrics for time (community phylometrics and BioGeoBEARS), diversification rates (BAMM and DR), and regional energy (past and current temperature, productivity).</p> <p><strong>Results</strong>: While regional richness across each of the six taxa peaked in the temperate region, it varied markedly across hemispheres and continents. The effects of time, diversification rates, and regional energy varied greatly from one taxon to another, but high diversification rates generally emerged as the best predictor of high regional richness. The effects of time and regional energy were limited, with the exception of salamanders and cetaceans. </p> <p><strong>Main conclusions</strong>: Together, our results indicate that the causes of i-LDG are highly taxon-specific. Consequently, large-scale richness gradients might not have a universal explanation and different causal pathways might converge on similar gradients. Moreover, regional diversification rates might vary dramatically between similar environments and, depending on the taxon, regional richness might or might not depend on the time for species accumulation. Together, these results underscore the complexity behind the formation of richness gradients, which might involve a symphony of variations on the interplay of time, diversification rates, and regional energy.</p>
Dataset of blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) species observed along an elevational gradient on Mt. Etna, Sicily.
<p>This dataset contains count data for blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) collected at four different elevations along an altitudinal gradient around Mt. Etna, in Sicily (Italy). Samples were collected to determine changes in blow fly community assembly as elevation changes.</p> <p>BlowflyAltitudeSicily_Data.csv is a file that contains the raw count data for species separated by both elevation and sex of the identified specimens.</p> <p>BlowflyAltitudeSicily_Methods.docx is a summarized version of the sampling method relevant to interpreting the data.</p> <p>BlowflyAltitudeSicily_Descriptive.txt is a file describing the column headers in "BlowflyAltitudeSicily_Data.csv".</p>
Neutral processes related to regional bee commonness and dispersal distances are important predictors of plant-pollinator networks along gradients of climate and landscape conditions
<p>Understanding how niche-based and neutral processes contribute to the spatial variation in plant-pollinator interactions is central to designing effective pollination conservation schemes. Such schemes are needed to reverse declines of wild bees and other pollinating insects and to promote pollination services to wild and cultivated plants. We used data on wild bee interactions with plants belonging to the four tribes Loteae, Trifolieae, Anthemideae, and either spring- or summer-flowering Cichorieae, sampled systematically along a 682km latitudinal gradient to build models that allowed us to (a) predict occurrences of pairwise bee-flower interactions across 115 sampling locations, and (b) estimate the contribution of variables hypothesized to be related to niche-based assembly structuring processes (viz. annual mean temperature, landscape diversity, bee sociality, bee phenology, and flower preferences of bees) and neutral processes (viz. regional commonness and dispersal distance to conspecifics). While neutral processes were important predictors of plant-pollinator distributions, niche-based processes were reflected in the contrasting distributions of solitary bee and bumble bees along the temperature gradient, and in the influence of bee flower preferences on the distribution of bee species across plant types. In particular, bee flower preferences separated bees into three main groups, albeit with some overlap: visitors to spring-flowering Cichorieae; visitors to Anthemideae and summer-flowering Cichorieae; and visitors to Trifolieae and Loteae. Our findings suggest that both neutral and niche-based processes are significant contributors to the spatial distribution of plant-pollinator interactions so that conservation actions in our region should be directed towards areas: near high concentrations of known occurrences of regionally rare bees; in mild climatic conditions; and that are surrounded by heterogeneous landscapes. Given the observed niche-based differences, the proportion of functionally distinct plants in flower-mixes could be chosen to target bee species, or guilds, of conservation concern.</p>
Changes in the acoustic structure of Australian bird communities along a habitat complexity gradient
<p>Avian vocalizations have evolved in response to a variety of abiotic and biotic selective pressures. While there is some support for signal convergence in similar habitats that is attributed to adaptation to the acoustic properties of the environment (the ‘acoustic adaptation hypothesis’, AAH), there is also evidence for character displacement as result of competition for signal space among coexisting species (the ‘acoustic niche partitioning hypothesis’). We explored the acoustic space of avian assemblages distributed along six different habitat types (from herbaceous habitats to warm rainforests) in south eastern Queensland, Australia. We employed three acoustic diversity indices (acoustic richness, evenness, and divergence) to characterize the signal space. In addition, we quantified the phylogenetic and morphological structure (in terms of both body mass and beak size) of each community. Acoustic parameters showed a moderately low phylogenetic signal, indicating labile evolution. Although, we did not find meaningful differences in acoustic diversity indices among habitat categories, there was a significant relationship between the regularity component (evenness) and vegetation height indicating that acoustic signals are more evenly distributed in dense habitats. After accounting for differences in species richness, the volume of acoustic space (i.e., acoustic richness) decreased as the level of phylogenetic and morphological resemblance among species in a given community increased. Additionally, we found a significantly negative relationship between acoustic divergence and divergence in body mass indicating that the less different species are in their body mass, the more different their songs are likely to be. This implies the existence of acoustic niche partitioning at community level. Overall, while we found mixed support for the AAH, our results suggest that community-level effects may play a role in structuring acoustic signals within avian communities in this region. This study shows that signal diversity estimated by diversity metrics of community ecology based on basic acoustic parameters can provide additional insight into the structure of animal vocalizations. <br> </p>
Examining the diversity, stability and functioning of marine fish communities across a latitudinal gradient
<p><strong>Aim</strong>: As anthropogenic stressors on the biosphere intensify, understanding how communities respond to disturbances is critical. Biodiversity is often thought to promote the stability of communities over time and enhance ecosystem functioning. However, results have been inconsistent, and the multifaceted linkages among diversity, stability, and functioning under acute disturbances remain poorly understood. We experimentally tested the responses of marine fish communities to disturbance (i.e., acute habitat loss) across a diversity gradient spanning 35º degrees of latitude in the western Atlantic Ocean to assess the diversity-stability relationship and the interplay between diversity, stability, and fish biomass recovery (as a proxy for function) in marine fish communities.</p> <p><strong>Location</strong>: Western Atlantic Ocean (Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida [USA], Belize, and Panama).</p> <p><strong>Time</strong> <strong>period</strong>: 2016 – 2017</p> <p><strong>Major taxa studied</strong>: Small, bottom-dwelling ('cryptobenthic') fishes</p> <p><strong>Results</strong>: Diversity showed a negative effect on community stability at both the regional (across docks) and local (within docks) scales. Similarly, local diversity was negatively correlated with ecosystem function. These effects are exacerbated by the habitat loss imposed via our experimental treatment.</p> <p><strong>Main</strong> <strong>conclusions</strong>: Our results suggest that habitat loss may more intensively re-shuffle diverse, tropical communities, which impacts biomass recovery, our proxy of functioning. Contrary to ecological theory, in small-bodied, benthos-associated vertebrate communities, biodiversity may neither promote stability nor functioning, suggesting that human disturbances may be particularly impactful in tropical, high-diversity ecosystems.</p>
Data from: Biodiversity patterns diverge along geographic temperature gradients
<p>Models applying space-for-time substitution, including those projecting ecological responses to climate change, generally assume an elevational and latitudinal equivalence that is rarely tested. However, a mismatch may lead to different capacities for providing climatic refuge to dispersing species. We compiled community data on zooplankton, ectothermic animals that form the consumer basis of most aquatic food webs, from over 1,200 mountain lakes and ponds across western North America to assess biodiversity along geographic temperature gradients spanning nearly 3,750 metres of elevation and 30 degrees latitude. Species richness, phylogenetic relationships, and functional diversity all showed contrasting responses across gradients, with richness metrics plateauing at low elevations but exhibiting intermediate latitudinal maxima. The nonmonotonic/hump-shaped diversity trends with latitude emerged from geographic interactions, including weaker latitudinal relationships at higher elevations (i.e. in alpine lakes) linked to different underlying drivers. Here, divergent patterns of phylogenetic and functional trait dispersion indicate shifting roles of environmental filters and limiting similarity in the assembly of communities with increasing elevation and latitude. We further tested whether gradients showed common responses to warmer temperatures and found that mean annual (but not seasonal) temperatures predicted elevational richness patterns but failed to capture consistent trends with latitude, meaning that predictions of how climate change will influence diversity also differ between gradients. Contrasting responses to elevation- and latitude-driven warming suggest different limits on climatic refugia and likely greater barriers to northward range expansion.</p>
Data from: Sedimentary organic carbon and nitrogen sequestration across a vertical gradient on a temperate wetland seascape including salt marshes, seagrass meadows and rhizophytic macroalgae beds
<p>Dataset </p> <p> </p> <p>Coastal wetlands are key in regulating coastal carbon and nitrogen dynamics and contribute significantly to climate change mitigation and anthropogenic nutrient reduction. We investigated organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks and burial rates at four adjacent vegetated coastal habitats across the seascape elevation gradient of Cádiz Bay (South Spain), including one species of salt marsh, two of seagrasses, and a macroalgae. OC and TN stocks in the upper 1 m sediment layer were higher at the subtidal seagrass <em>Cymodocea nodosa</em> (72.3 Mg OC ha<sup>-1</sup>, 8.6 Mg TN ha<sup>-1</sup>) followed by the upper intertidal salt marsh <em>Sporobolus maritimus</em> (66.5 Mg OC ha<sup>-1</sup>, 5.9 Mg TN ha<sup>-1</sup>), the subtidal rhizophytic macroalgae <em>Caulerpa prolifera</em> (62.2 Mg OC ha<sup>-1</sup>, 7.2 Mg TN ha<sup>-1</sup>), and the lower intertidal seagrass <em>Zostera noltei</em> (52.8 Mg OC ha<sup>-1</sup>, 5.2 Mg TN ha<sup>-1</sup>). The sedimentation rates increased from lower to higher elevation, from the intertidal salt marsh (0.24 g cm<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>) to the subtidal macroalgae (0.12 g cm<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>). The organic carbon burial rate was highest at the intertidal salt marsh<em> </em>(91 ± 31 g OC m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>), followed by the intertidal seagrass, (44 ± 15 g OC m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>), the subtidal seagrass (39 ± 6 g OC m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>), and the subtidal macroalgae (28 ± 4 g OC m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>). Total nitrogen burial rates were similar among the three lower vegetation types, ranging from 5 ± 2 to 3 ± 1 g TN m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>, and peaked at <em>S. maritimus </em>salt marsh with 7 ± 1 g TN m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>. The contribution of allochthonous sources to the sedimentary organic matter also decreased with elevation, from 72% in <em>C. prolifera</em> to 33% at <em>S. maritimus</em>. Our results highlight the need of using habitat-specific OC and TN stocks and burial rates to improve our ability to predict OC and TN sequestration capacity of vegetated coastal habitats at the seascape level. We also demonstrated that the stocks and burial rates in <em>C. prolifera </em>habitats were within the range of well-accepted blue carbon ecosystems such as seagrass meadows and salt marshes.</p>
Twelve thousand recent limpets (Mollusca, Patellogastropoda) from a northeastern Pacific latitudinal gradient
<p>Provided here is an image and 2D shape library of 12,035 Recent patellogastropod limpet (Mollusca, Patellogastropoda) shells collected from the northeastern Pacific along a latitudinal gradient ranging from Alaska to Baja, California. 2D outline coordinate data and morphometric measurements were generated using macroscopic high-throughput imaging methods (<em>AutoMorph</em>: https://github.com/HullLab/AutoMorph) developed in P.M. Hull’s lab at Yale University.</p> <p>This dataset is composed of patellogastropoda from 1,256 University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) sample lots (metadata.tar.gz: Table 1). These lots represent multi-species assemblages collected from 353 unique localities along the western coast of North America (metadata.tar.gz: Table 2), ranging from Cape Yakataga, Alaska, United States (60°06’11N) to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico (22°89’56N).</p> <p>Images and morphometric data are provided in 7 datasets:</p> <p><strong>1) boxed_full_images.zip: </strong>1,256 full-lot (overview) images with boxed object identified by the <em>segment</em> module.</p> <p><strong>2) zstacks.zip: </strong>image stacks for each of the 1,256 sample lots processed by <em>segment.</em> These image stacks may potentially be used to generate individual 3D height maps.</p> <p><strong>3) 2d_edfs_labeled.zip: </strong>12,035 individual extended-depth-of-focus (EDF) images produced by <em>focus</em>. A list of the individuals represented is provided in TableS1 in metadata.zip.</p> <p><strong>4) 2d_outlines.zip: </strong>12,035 EDF images with 2D outline overlays for quality control.</p> <p><strong>5) 2d_coordinates.zip: </strong>1,256 .csv files of the outline shape coordinates for all lots successfully processed with <em>AutoMorph</em>, including one file (all_coordinates_limpets.csv) with the coordinates for all 12,035 individuals extracted.</p> <p><strong>6) master_2d_measurements.csv: </strong>UCMP locality numbers, UCMP lot numbers, locality coordinates, object identification numbers output by AutoMorph, and morphometric data for all 12,035 individuals. Each individual has associated full-lot, individual EDF, 2D and outline images, as well as outline shape coordinates, all of which may be found in the .zip files listed above. Object identification numbers, which are used to link morphometric measurements with associated images, can be found in the column ‘object IDs’. Morphometric data provided includes major axis length, minor axis length, perimeter length, eccentricity, and rugosity, as well as aspect ratio and the height and width of the aspect rectangle. Locality coordinates are rounded to the nearest 0.1 degree to account for potential measurement uncertainty.</p> <p><strong>7) metadata.zip: </strong>A directory containing 5 tables in corresponding .xslx files. Table 1 provides UCMP specimen and locality numbers, site names, rounded coordinates, and the number of individuals per UCMP lot. Table 2 provides the number of species per site, with locality numbers and species names also provided. Table 3 provides information on the species’ range minima and maxima observed in the present dataset, as well as the number of individuals per species. Table 4 provides a comparison of hand measurements and AutoMorph outputs for 41 specimens, used for measurement validation. Table 5 provides locality information mismatches for three UCMP specimen lots. Table S1 provides a list of all objects included in the dataset, including an indication of which objects have known locality coordinates.</p> <p>The dataset provided accompanies the manuscript “Twelve thousand Recent limpets (Mollusca, Patellogastropoda) from a northeastern Pacific latitudinal gradient” submitted to <em>Scientific Data.</em> This manuscript describes methods of data collection and contains important usage notes, and should thus be consulted before attempting to use the data provided here.</p> <p>This work was funded by the American Chemical Society PRF Grant #55837-DNI8 and by support from Yale University.</p>
Data from: Limited intraspecific variation in drought resistance along a pronounced tropical rainfall gradient
<p>Assessing within-species variation in response to drought is crucial for predicting species responses to climate change and informing restoration and conservation efforts, yet experimental data are lacking for the vast majority of tropical tree species. We assessed intraspecific variation in response to water availability across a strong rainfall gradient for 16 tropical tree species using reciprocal transplant and common garden field experiments, along with measurements of gene flow and key functional traits linked to drought resistance.</p>
Discrete Flow Cytometry of Depth Profile Samples from the Gradients 5 (2023) Cruise Using a BD Influx Cell Sorter
<p>The dataset consists of BD Influx-based analysis of phytoplankton populations from discrete flow cytometry data collected during the Gradients 2023 (Gradients 5/TN412) oceanographic research cruise in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The data consists of cell abundance, cell size (equivalent spherical diameter), carbon quota, and carbon biomass for heterotrophic bacteria, picophytoplankton populations, namely the cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, and small eukaryotic phytoplankton (<5 μm ESD). Time is in UTC format, latitude and longitude are in decimal degrees, and depth is in meters. Further information can be found here: https://github.com/fribalet/FCSplankton</p>
Data from: Interannual radial growth response of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) to severe droughts: an analysis along a gradient of soil properties and rooting characteristics
<p>Dataset related to the publication: „Interannual radial growth response of Douglas-fir (<em>Pseudotsuga menziesii</em> (Mirb.) Franco) to severe droughts: an analysis along a gradient of soil properties and rooting characteristics”</p> <p>Information on the data and the tree species_site_key used can be found in the attached Read me file.</p>
Data from: Higher spatial than seasonal beta diversity of soil protists along elevation gradients
<p>This data package contain the data and R script to reproduce the analyses of the paper from Bruni <em>et al.</em> (in press).</p> <p>It contains:</p> <ul> <li><strong>protist_spatiotemporal_turnover_site_parameters.xlsx</strong>: the list of sites used in this study with their (label, location, geography coordinates, habitat, ENA project and sample accessions) and soil abiotic parameters. Abbreviations and units are as follows: Res_hum, residual humidity [%]; Org_mat, soil organic matter [%]; C_org, organic carbon [mg ∙ g-1]; N_org, organic nitrogen [mg ∙ g-1]; P_bio, bioavailable phosphate [mg ∙ g-1]; C_N_ratio, carbon org. / nitrogen org. ratio; N_P_ratio: nitrogen org. / phosphorus bioavailable ratio.</li> <li><strong>protist_spatiotemporal_turnover_data.RData</strong>: dataset in rda format (R core team, 2024) containing the ASV read's abundance per site matrix (object "mat"), the ASV taxonomic assignments (object "taxo"), the ASV sequences (object "asv") and the CRU-TS monthly climatic data corresponding to the sampled site's location and dates (object "cruts").</li> <li><strong>protist_spatiotemporal_turnover_analyses.R</strong>: R script to reproduce all analyses and figures of Bruni <em>et al.</em> (in press)</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>References:</p> <p>Bruni, E. P., Lorite, J., Peñas, J., Mulot, M., Fournier, B., Vittoz, P., Mitchell, E. A. D., & Lentendu, G. (2024). Higher spatial than seasonal beta diversity of soil protists along elevation gradients. Frontiers of Biogeography, 17, 1–17. DOI:<a href="https://doi.org/10.21425/fob.17.132637">10.21425/fob.17.132637</a></p> <div> <div>R Core Team. (2024). <em>R: a language and environment for statistical computing</em> (4.2.2) R Foundation for Statistical Computing. <a href="https://www.r-project.org/">https://www.r-project.org/</a></div> </div>
Data from: Climatic disequilibrium of recruit communities across a drought-induced die-off gradient in Mediterranean shrubland
<p>Positive plant–plant interactions (facilitation) may enhance the recruitment and establishment of species less adapted to local macroclimatic conditions. A major cause of this effect is climatic buffering, which implies an increased mismatch between the macroclimatic conditions and the climatic requirements of the existing community – climatic disequilibrium – of plants living under canopies. Here we explore the effect of drought-induced defoliation of Mediterranean shrubland canopy on the recruitment of woody species. We analyzed the differences in the climatic disequilibrium across different categories of canopy defoliation and plant–plant interactions: facilitation, neutral and inhibition. Climatic disequilibrium was estimated as the Euclidean distance in the multivariate environmental space between observed macroclimate and community inferred climate. The inferred climate was calculated by averaging the coordinates of the species' climatic niche centroids, obtained from species distribution, weighted by the species' relative abundances in each community. We found that the recruiting community growing under canopy showed higher climatic disequilibrium than the community growing in the gaps. The facilitated recruiting community growing under dead and living canopy showed the highest disequilibrium, followed by the community growing under mid-affected canopy. The climatic disequilibrium of the recruiting communities experiencing neutral and inhibited interaction was not affected by canopy defoliation. These findings indicate that the climatic disequilibrium of the recruiting community is determined by the facilitation–competition balance. Living canopy provides climatic buffering, but it also implies competition, while dead canopy may provide some structural climatic buffering, without implying competition for resources. These results highlight the relevance of incorporating plant–plant interactions, particularly facilitation, to better forecast plant community responses to extreme climate events and climate change.</p>
Investigating historical drivers of latitudinal gradients in polyploid plant biogeography: A multi-clade perspective
<p><em>Premise of the Study</em></p> <p>The proportion of polyploid plants in a community increases with latitude, and different hypotheses have been proposed about which factors drive this pattern. Here, we aim to understand the historical causes of the latitudinal polyploidy gradient using a combination of ancestral state reconstruction methods. Specifically, we assess whether (1) polyploidization enables movement to higher latitudes (i.e., polyploidization precedes occurrences in higher latitudes) or (2) higher latitudes facilitate polyploidization (i.e., occurrence in higher latitudes precedes polyploidization).</p> <p><em>Methods</em></p> <p>We reconstruct the ploidy states and ancestral niches of 1,032 angiosperm species at four paleoclimatic time slices ranging from 3.3 million years ago to the present, comprising taxa from four well-represented clades: Onagraceae, Primulaceae, <em>Solanum</em> (Solanaceae), and Pooideae (Poaceae). We use ancestral niche reconstruction models alongside a customized discrete character evolution model to allow reconstruction of states at specific time slices. Patterns of latitudinal movement are reconstructed and compared in relation to inferred ploidy shifts.</p> <p><em>Key Results</em></p> <p>We find that no single hypothesis applies equally well across all analyzed clades. While significant differences in median latitudinal occurrence were detected in the largest clade, Poaceae, no significant differences were detected in latitudinal movement in any clade.</p> <p><em>Conclusions</em></p> <p>Our preliminary study is the first to attempt to connect ploidy changes to continuous latitudinal movement, but we cannot favor one hypothesis over another. Given that patterns seem to be clade-specific, a larger number of clades must be analyzed in future studies for generalities to be drawn.</p>
Figure 3 in Woody species distribution across a savanna-dry forest soil gradient in the Brazilian Cerrado
Figure 3. Proportional occurrence of 51 woody species across 30 plots ordinated by the soil gradient of aluminum saturation and base saturation (RDA axis 1, see Figure 1) in a savanna-dry forest transition. Grey and black bars correspond to cerrado stricto sensu and dry forest plots, respectively.
ScienceDex guides
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These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.